Property Line Hunters

[Robert_in_NY]

People hunting just off your property line is just part of life. There is nothing you can do about it and you shouldn't even think about trying to tell others where they can hunt on theirs or someone elses property. I know it sucks from a hunter/land owner stand point but how would you like it if someone told you where your allowed to hunt on your own property? Now if they are trespassing then you can say something.

We have hunters trying to get as tight to our ground as possible. They do all sorts of silly things trying to get on the edges of our property. Its just part of the joy of being a land owner. Its easier to just smile at things then to lose sleep or to stress over something you have no control over.

 

[Fixemall]

Ha !!!! I have two stands I aquired that way. Each time I took them ( right out of my apple orchard ) I left notes for them that if they wanted their treestands back to give me a call and the sheriff and I will gladly discuss the trespassing fine and compenstaion for the damage caused to my apple trees.
For some reason neither owner has yet to call to get them back.... lol.



BTW- you got a link to that Deer repellent????

I get it from Gemplers...I must warn you though they seem to have a lot of other stuff you might want, every time I think I'm placing a small order I end up going overboard.

 

[strum456]

There are a couple new neighbors in my area that have recently moved in and purchased sizable tracts of land. The first thing they did was mark their lines and put up signs about every 20 yards. To me, the message they are sending out by doing this is not friendly. What ever happened to offering your neighbor a helping hand?

I don't waste time posting my land or marking property lines. I have found that this only keeps out the honest people.

In fact, I know of a guy that put up a stand, feeder and trail cam on the back corner of my propery without asking permission. Should he have asked permission - yes. Am I going to take his stand down or make a big deal about it - no. I hardly ever hunt back there, and the guy probably doens't have anywhere else to hunt.

 

[Rocksprings]

Good fences make good neighbors, However I do not tolerate any one hunting my fence line. I will go out of my way to make sure you don't see a bird much less one deer. Every one always thinks all the deer are on their neighbor's property. Stay off my fence line and you will have no problems from me.

 

[300UGUY]

I would say it is more typical for a hunter to set up a stand on a property line to look for deer on the other side of the line than within the boundaries of the land it is set up in.
Many of my friends are hunters but to be honest it seems to me that they lose their ethics during hunting season. JUST IMHO

Yup!!

 

[DwightD123]

I appreciate the insight both in practical and mental exercise. Some of this I am sure I should just accept as part of being a landowner and some I will push back on. My decision should be based on how blatant and obvious the issue is. For instance if a stand shows up 60 yds from my stand I'm going to ask them to move it first for safety and general decency reasons. Then if not I will probably do what I can to persuade deer not to go that direction. Others I will just have to live with understanding it as part of land ownership.
I was pretty disheartened when I was reading on another site's forum for ideas on this issue (turkey hunter forum) how many of those guys say they will go across property lines in an instant and if they get caught just apologize. It's a side of the hunter community that I don't like and quite honestly has caused me to raise my dander a bit. I still refuse to believe most of us are like that.
Again thanks for the responses and I will keep reading for other thoughts and insight.

 

[DwightD123]

I'm not a hunter yet, but I'm trying to understand this. I understand the 4 wheeler issue, but the stand location one I don't get. Obviously, the stands shouldn't be on your property if you didn't give permission. For stands that are near the line, why does it matter? These people aren't actually shooting deer that are on your property when the shot is fired, are they?

It's more of a decency thing. Imagine you have a ladder stand that your dad hunts out of. You can't easily move it like a climber because he is too old to use a climber. 3 weeks before season someone sets up a stand on the property line 60 yds facing your dad's stand. Is it illegal? no...Inconsiderate? I would say yes.
Scenario 2 neighbors have 150 acres to hunt. You have 40..they (or guests) come set up on the property line eliminating most of the places you can safely hunt. If by simply setting back 40- yds you could both be able to hunt a much larger area safer why wouldn't you think of the other guy and do that?

Now I am trying to give some benefit of the doubt and that's why I want to go about it in a tactful way and not get ignorant. Sure I could run a chainsaw opening morning real close to their stand...not my style. I would prefer to manage my land in a way that dissuades others from crowding me. From what others have said 40 acres may just not be big enough to do that though...so I may just have to wave at the guy and forget about it.

 

[nybirdman]

There is not a thing you can do about anyone not on your property.I think its human nature to get as close as you can to somewhere you can't hunt.You are the small dog in this fight with only forty acres.I would advise to have a meeting with all the land owners and set some boundaries and rules.If you hunt you may have to go on their land to track/retrieve.
Deer home range may be two square miles,bucks maybe five during the rut.
Our land is well posted and watched;we have more problems with road hunters and non-land owners who trespass.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence. Is your father's stand visible?

As for the trespassers, the oft heard rule from hunters is "I'd rather ask for forgiveness then ask for permission."

On the other hand, the size of the neighbor's tract, relative to yours, has no bearing on where they should set up a stand.

 

[dodge man]

As a land surveyor, and working in a area that is known for having a lot of big dear, this comes up a few times a year. People can get pretty worked up over this issue. Hunting near the line? That doesn't seem very nice to me, but if they stay on there side of the fence. I can almost promise you, if a hunter sees a big deer on your side of the fence, they will shoot it.

I've seen situations where someone is hunting on someone elses property on purpose. In my opinion, they should be arrested and get a large fine. I've also seen people that don't have a clue where the boundary line is take down other peoples tree stands.

My advice would be to make sure you really know where your boundaries are, and unless you can prove someone is hunting on you, don't worry about it. In Illinois it is illegal to do anything to ruin another persons hunt. There used to be someone in this area that would play music really loud through loudspeakers to scare deer away and ruin peoples hunt. They finally shut that down and fined them for it.